BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Proposed Rehabilita on of Kariba Dam Support Infrastructure PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT The purpose of this Background Informa on Document (BID) is to provide Interested and Affected Par es (IAPs) with informa on about the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process for the proposed rehabilita on of support infrastructure to the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River. The BID will also inform IAPs how to par cipate in the ESIA process and encourage them to a end project mee ngs and respond to project documents. The study area of the ESIA is indicated in the Figure 1.1 below with a yellow line. PROJECT BACKGROUND The Kariba Dam is located on the Zambezi River, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is situated 130 km south-south-east of Lusaka (Zambia) and 280 km north-west of Harare (Zimbabwe). The Kariba Dam is managed and operated by the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a statutory body established in 1987 and jointly and equally owned by the Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe. ZRA is also responsible for overseeing any further development of the Zambezi River. The ZRA is proposing the rehabilita on of some of the support infrastructure of the Kariba Dam, namely the plunge pool and spillway. The ZRA will require an ESIA to be undertaken in accordance with the environmental regula ons of Zambia and Zimbabwe before they will be granted permission to con nue with the works bearing in mind the findings of the ESIA. ZRA appointed Environmental Resources Management (ERM) as the environmental consultant to conduct the ESIA. WHAT IS AN ESIA? An ESIA is a study to iden fy and assess the possible environmental and social impacts associated with a proposed development in this case the rehabilita- on of Kariba Dam infrastructure. In order to commence with the Project, an ESIA must be done. This ESIA must be done in accordance with the relevant in -country legisla on as well as interna onal good prac ce guidelines such as the IFC s Performance Standards. An ESIA process typically aims to answer five key ques ons regarding the proposed development. These ques ons are illustrated in Figure 1.2 below. Figure 1.1 Project Location Page 1 Figure 1: 2 ESIA Questions
T P P: P P The Kariba Dam infrastructure requires necessary rehabilita on work to the plunge pool and the spillway. The details of which are presented below. The Plunge Pool Rehabilita on Over the years, due to sustained heavy spillage episodes, the river bedrock in the plunge pool (situated immediately downstream of the dam wall) was scoured down to 80m below the normal water level. Therefore there is a major concern over the natural development of the plunge pool in future, especially in case of excep onal floods and of intense spillages as is illustrated in the photograph in Figure 1.3 and 1.4. In order to manage future uncontrolled deepening of the plunge pool and to avoid the toe of the dam wall from weakening, it has been concluded that the plunge pool should be made bigger to include areas on both river banks as well as in a downstream direc on. It is foreseen that this excava on and reshaping of the plunge pool will facilitate the draining of spillage flows downstream, and avoid the concentra on of turbulence in a restricted and confined area as is currently the case. The posi on of the plunge pool is illustrated in Figure 1.5. Spillway 6 sluice gates Figure 1.3 : Kariba Dam - all six sluice gates of spillway open Plunge Pool Figure 1.5 Proposed reshaping of plunge pool Figure 1.4: Proposed reshaping of plunge pool Page 2
T P P: P P The plunge pool will be enlarged through the excava on of the riverbed. The excava on will be performed with the drill and blast method. The excavated rock will be transported from the pool to a dump site 2.5 km downstream, on the Zambian side of the river; see Figure 1.6. Construc on ac vi es will begin with the drying of the river in the area of the plunge pool. A number of associated ac vi es will form part of the refurbishment, namely: access road rehabilita on and construc on; construc on of a cofferdam downstream of the plunge pool and upstream of the powerhouses ; pumping the water out of the plunge pool and releasing it further downstream in the Zambezi river; con nuous pumping of water out of the plunge pool area for the en re dura on of the works; and addi onal drilling and concre ng inside the plunge pool area. Figure 1.6: Layout of the Kariba dam Page 3
T P P: P P Figure 1.7: Access roads on site It is important to note that due to the loca on of the works area, namely at the toe of the dam wall, construc on can only be done during the dry season / non-spillage period. This limits the construc on meframe significantly. This means that construc- on will be done in 7 month phases (May-November) a er which all materials and equipment will be removed from the works area to allow for the 5 months spillage period. This cycle of site establishment and removal will con nue for 5 years. The sequencing of the construc on ac vi es is illustrated in Figure 1.8 below. Figure 1.8 Sequencing of plunge pool construction activities Page 4
T P P: S Spillway Rehabilita on Works The spillway is located in the arch dam wall and has six sluices equipped with downstream gates as shown in Figure 1.9 below. Given the age (50 years) of the spillway s hydro-mechanical equipment and upstream grooves ZRA is proposing the replacement of the exis ng stopbeams with an emergency gate which will be operated in rehabilitated grooves. The new gate will be operated by a new gantry (crane-like mechanism) and will slide into the rehabilitated upstream grooves. The construc on of the emergency gate and associated infrastructure will be undertaken immediately a er the rehabilita on of the plunge pool. The rehabilita on ac vi es will include: the installa on of an emergency gate to be able to close a sluice, its associated gantry; and rehabilita on of the grooves, sills and lintels with new built-in parts adapted to the emergency gate; construc on of cofferdams to dewater the sluices during the rehabilita on process; and Installa on of new stopbeams for scheduled maintenance. The sequencing of the construc on ac vi es is illustrated in Figure 1.10 below. Figure 1.9: The spillway s six sluice gates in the arch dam Figure 1.10: Sequencing of spillway construction activities Page 5
T ESIA P The ESIA will be conducted in parallel in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In Zambia, key legisla on is the Environmental Management Act of 2011 which provides for integrated environmental management. In addi on, the Environmental Impact Assessment Regula ons (and Statutory Instrument 28 of the 1997 EIA Regula ons) require developers to provide an environmental Project Brief to the Environmental Council of Zambia. If the Council finds that the project will have a significant impact on the environment, it may require the developer to submit an environmental impact statement. For this Project it has been decided by the ZRA that a full ESIA be undertaken to ensure that interna onal standards are met. In Zimbabwe, the key legisla on is the Environmental Management Act (Chapter 20:27) which was enacted in March 2003. The act provides that the project developer (ZRA) should engage an independent consultant to undertake the ESIA. In addi on, Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007 provides for the implementa on of the findings of an EISA. Statutory Instrument No. 7 of 2007 the Environmental Management (Environmental Impact Assessments and Ecosystems Protec on Regula ons). ZAMBIA E(S)IA Process ZIMBABWE: E(S)IA Process Page 6
S E ESIA An essen al component of an ESIA is stakeholder engagement. The key objec ves of the stakeholder engagement process of an ESIA are: to share informa on about the Project; to allow informants to raise concerns/ ques ons about the Project; to gather stakeholder responses on the ESIA findings and proposed management and design measures; to provide responses to concerns and ques ons, where possible, or to explore further as part of ESIA; to report back on the findings of the ESIA and proposed management measures; and to meet legisla ve requirements regarding stakeholder engagement. Be a Part of the Process You are invited to par cipate in the ESIA process. The Stakeholder Engagement Process aims to inform a wide range of stakeholders about the Project and the environmental and social assessment process to be followed. The engagement process allows for the public to exchange Project informa on and to express their views and concerns on the proposed development. The process assists in iden fying poten al issues and concerns that need to be addressed during the impact assessment. It also captures stakeholder comments and sugges ons for inclusion in the ESIA report. Therefore, please ensure that you are registered on the Project stakeholder database. The registra on of your details will ensure that you receive on-going Project communica on such as mee ng invita ons, Project updates and the opportunity to review the dra ESIA report. Key contact persons during the ESIA process are: Mr. Felix Chisha in Zambia Mobile: +260-974-074 384; +260-963 258 535 Email: felixchisha@airtelzm.blackberry.com Mr. Oliver Manjengwa in Zimbabwe mobile +263772958671) Email: olivermanjengwa@gmail.com Ms. Janet Mkhabela in South Africa Telephone: +27 21 681 5400 Email : janet.mkhabela@erm.com Project Website: h p://www.erm.com/karibadamesia Page 7
Registration and Comment Sheet Kariba Dam Rehabilitation September 2014 Should you have any queries, comments or sugges ons regarding the Project, please note them below. Return this comment sheet to: Felix Chisha in Zambia Mobile: +260-974-074 384; +260-963 258 535 Email: felixchisha@airtelzm.blackberry.com Oliver Manjengwa in Zimbabwe mobile +263772958671) Email: olivermanjengwa@gmail.com Janet Mkhabela in South Africa Telephone: +27 21 681 5400 Email : janet.mkhabela@erm.com Please formally register me as stakeholder and provide further informa on and no fica ons Yes No during ESIA process I would like to receive my no fica ons by: Email Post Fax Comments: Title and Name: Organisa on: Telephone: Cellphone: Fax: Email: Please fill in your contact details below for the project database. Postal Address: Name Signature Date Thank you for your participation! Thank you for your par cipa on Page 8